


The One Where Buffy and Angel Never Met and Never Fell in Love

by WillowFromBuffy



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 12:19:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15339753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowFromBuffy/pseuds/WillowFromBuffy
Summary: ... also known as the Buffy and Angel romance with the needlessly long and annoyingly provocative title.





	The One Where Buffy and Angel Never Met and Never Fell in Love

**The Bronze, Sunnydale, December 1998**  
The slayer stepped across the drained bodies that lay strewn about in untidy piles. Her boots made squeaky noises as she walked across the sticky floor. Unless they were planning to rise again, they weren't her concern. Her concern was the living and the living dead. The dead dead had had their chance. Perhaps she should make a pyre out of this entire night club, just to be safe. There seemed to hardly be any townspeople left to miss it.  
  
She became aware of a pair of voices in the adjoining room. She snuck herself stealthily over to the door and listened.  
  
"And in my world … you always wear these sexy billowy coats when you walk into battle," one voice said.  
  
"Do I?" a deeper, more masculine voice replied to the first.  
  
"Yes," the softer, more feminine voice said. "And this one time, you saved me from being eaten by a giant snake monster."  
  
The slayer wondered what this could possibly be about.  
  
The girl kept talking. "And Buffy, she loves you very much," she said, "and the both of you would do anything for each other, and I thought that if I and Xander could have something that was almost like that, then it would be worth so much more than what I had had with all those previous posers." The girl sounded faint and borderline hysterical at the same time. "But he turned out to be such a jerk, he and that mousy little jerk friend of his."  
  
_Buffy? How does the girl know my name?_ the slayer wondered. None of what she heard made any sense to her. She decided to listen a little more.  
  
"Don't speak so much," the man said. "You're bleeding out. You need to save your strength."  
  
"It does not matter," the girl said. "We need to destroy my necklace. Maybe that will undo all of this. Maybe that will make things like they were." She coughed. "Why couldn't I have been strong? Why couldn't I have fallen in love with someone like you?"  
  
"You don't know me," the man said, "and I am not the type of man you would want to get to know."  
  
"Maybe _you_ don't know you," the girl said. "Did that," _cough!_ "ever occur to you?"  
  
The slayer decided she had heard enough. She stamped into the room. The girl she had heard was sitting upright against the wall. Her head hung low against her chest. A trail of blood ran from her neck down her blue cardigan. She was wearing the necklace she had spoken of. The man was huddling up in the corner. His wrists and ankles were chained, just like the girl's. Scars and burns covered his naked chest. The slayer walked up to the girl and pressed two fingers to her throat.  
  
"Dead," she declared. She looked at the man, who stared back at her. "You don't need to be afraid," she said, trying to sound friendly. "I am not a vampire."  
  
"I know that," the man said. "You're Buffy. You're the slayer."  
  
"I didn't know I was famous," the slayer said. "Do _you_ have a name?"  
  
"Angel," the man said.  
  
"Pretty name," the slayer said. She nodded towards the dead girl. "Did you know her?"  
  
"She claimed I did," Angel said. "She told me that the world is wrong … that we were supposed to know each other … but I don't."  
  
"So, she was delusional," the slayer said. "I guess torture can do that to you."  
  
"I don't think she was," Angel said. "You were supposed to have come here two years ago. A demon brought me here, so that I could help guide you, but you never arrived. Something is really wrong."  
  
"A demon brought you here?" the slayer said. "You're as cooky as she was." She sighed. "Try to relax. It is all all right now. I am gonna save the day."  
  
"If she was crazy," Angel said, "then how did she know your name? Huh?"  
  
"I don't think she knew my name because of the world being wrong," the slayer said. "Now, let me get you out of those chains."  
  
She moved closer to Angel. As she bent down, her cross fell out from the cleavage in her tank top. Angel hissed and leapt back in what seemed like instinctual fear.  
  
The slayer got up. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me," she said, almost with a laugh. "You nearly had me there, buddy."  
  
"Wait," Angel reached out for her. "You're wrong." His arm was held back by the chain. "I mean, you're not wrong. I am a vampire … but I want to be good. I came here to do good."  
  
The slayer crossed her arms. "You came here _to do good?_ " she said. "Didn't work out for ya, I see."  
  
"I tried," Angel said. "For some of us, that is all we can do. If you let me out, I can try again."  
  
The slayer shrugged. Then she grabbed the chains and pulled them free of the wall. "I assume you know that I could kill one starved-out vampire without breaking a sweat," she said.  
  
"I hope so," Angel said, rising to his feet, dragging the chains behind him. "There are hundreds of them in this town."  
  
The slayer grabbed Angel by the collar and pushed him hard against the wall. "And you are going to lead me to them," she said.  
  
Angel smiled and the slayer followed his glance down to his burnt chest. "It would be my pleasure," he said.  
  
They stepped out into the deserted streets. Angel explained that a particularly nefarious vampire called The Master had gathered all the vampires at a factory, where they had constructed a terrible machine that could drain the blood from living victims with modern assembly-line efficiency. They marched over there as quickly as they could. The slayer realised this was probably going to be the most difficult fight she had ever faced. This was what she had spent all those days and nights training for. Tonight, she would know if it was enough.  
  
"There is no chance," Angel said, as they stood outside the doorway leading to the factory hall, observing the gathered vampires. "We can never win."  
  
"Look at the people in the cages," the slayer said. "We have to save them. I can do it."  
  
A girl already lay on the conveyor belt. Large needles had penetrated her skin and drained all the colour from it.  
  
"There is only one thing we can do," Angel said and held up the necklace, which he must have taken from the dead girl. "We need to destroy this and hope it will make the world better."  
  
"Listen to yourself," the slayer said. "A girl tells you about some fluffy fairy tale world where you and I are boyfriend and girlfriend, saving everyone from all the monsters, and you _believe it!?_ This," she pointed at the terrible machine, "is what is real. This is what we need to stop, and we must do it _now!_ "  
  
"We can't win," Angel said. "The necklace is our only hope." His eyes looked sincere. He really believed what he said.  
  
The slayer snatched the necklace from him. "I won't do it," the slayer said. "Even if what you are saying is true, I won't do it. I won't change this world for some other world. I won't change this _me_ for some other me."  
  
She looked back into the factory. It seemed the other vampires had heard their little argument. The slayer lifted her crossbow and aimed it at the vampire with the bat-like face, thinking it had to be the infamous Master. The vampire snatched the arrow out of the air, just as it would have pierced his heart, and snapped it in half in his crooked fist.  
  
The slayer closed her eyes and silently recited her mantra in her head. _Remember your training. Keep fighting. Don't pause. Concentrate. Never lower your guard. Then you won't die._ When she opened her eyes, the first vamp was almost upon her. Vampires are predictable. They are predators. They go straight for the kill. As long as you know that, as long as you can stand still without flinching, you can easily anticipate and counter their clumsy attacks. Her hand brought her stake right into the first vampires chest, making his ribcage collapse into his heart.  
  
The slayer saw that Angel had run to the cages and were letting the prisoners out. It was a stupid move. They would only get in the way and probably get themselves killed. The priority had to be the vamps. The slayer received a kick to the stomach from a vampire with slick white hair, but she managed to trap his leg in a lock. She twisted his foot, breaking several of his bones and bringing him to his knees. Before he could get back up, she had struck his heart and he exploded into dust. A loud shriek alerted the slayer to a female vampire, who came charging at the her from behind. The slayer spun around and kicked the female vampire onto the conveyor belt. The needles came down upon her and sucked the blood from her until she had turned into a dried-out husk of a corpse.  
  
The slayer smiled triumphantly, as she overlooked the battlefield. The vampires were already starting to scatter around her. Some were attacking the escaping prisoners. A red-headed vampire in a leather corset ripped out a piece of a boy's throat. It was a sad sight. _Who was that girl before she died and rose?_ the slayer wondered. _Perhaps that girl and the boy she now had killed could have been friends. Perhaps they once were friends._  
  
A cold shudder made its way up the slayer's spine. She looked up towards the overlooking platform. The Master was beckoning for her to approach him. A darkness fell over her mind. Why fight it? What was she, except a lamb put to slaughter? She could not change anything. All her exertions had only helped prolong the fight. It could only end one way. She would die and another girl world step up to take her place. If she died tonight, she wouldn't have to be scared any more. Perhaps being dead wouldn't be so bad … and the dying would be quick. She walked into The Master's welcoming embrace, and he bent over her and put his mouth to her neck. The spell broke the moment his fangs cut into her skin. She struggled to free herself, but he was too strong, and she was getting weak. She had done it. She had messed up. That was the one rule her watcher had tried to beat into her. _Never mess up! If you mess up, you die!_ She fought, but maybe the struggle was only instinctual. Maybe secretly, she wanted this. There was nothing holding her back … so she left … and her body grew limp and free from pain.  
  
When Buffy awoke, she was laying on a sofa in a house she did not know. Angel stood over her, looking concerned, but he smiled when he saw that she was coming to.  
  
"The Master..?" Buffy asked.  
  
"He is dead," Angel said. "I got him from the back, while he was feeding on you."  
  
"So we won?" Buffy asked. Her throat was sore, so it was painful to speak.  
  
"Not really," Angel said. "I wasn't able to save anyone else. I just grabbed you and ran. They are coming for us. Hundreds of them... I don't know how long it will be till they find us."  
  
Buffy put her feet on the floor but realised she was too weak to stand on them. "We need to be ready for them," she said.  
  
"There is nothing we can do," Angel said, "except..."  
  
"Except what?" Buffy asked.  
  
Angel reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out the necklace.  
  
"No," Buffy said. "I won't..."  
  
"It is the only way," Angel said.  
  
Buffy yanked the necklace from him. "It is not fair," she said, looking at the little stone in her palm.  
  
"It is not about being fair," Angel said. "We need to be strong."  
  
"This is not being strong," Buffy said. A small tear had made its way down her cheek. "Strong is fighting. Strong is overcoming every obstacle. This … this is just giving up."  
  
Angel didn't say anything. Buffy closed her hand around the stone. She didn't get it. She had done everything right. She had trained night and day, so she could be the strongest, meanest and most skilled, just so that she would be ready for a day like this … just so that she would not be found wanting … so that she wouldn't have to go the way the girls before her had gone … drained, dead and cast aside.  
  
"If we do this," Angel said, " _they_ will have a chance."  
  
"Who?" Buffy asked in a sardonic voice. "That other slayer and her vampire lover? The versions of us that live inside a silly teen flick?"  
  
"I guess it sounds kinda silly," Angel said and sat down next to her. "I can do silly, I think. Anything but more of this."  
  
Buffy rested her tired head on his shoulder. "When I was first called … when I knew I was the slayer, I mean, I got excited," she said. "I had super powers. It was like I was the star of my own little movie. Then I learned. It took time and many horrible experiences, but I learned that life is still real life … super powers or no."  
  
"Maybe it's like that for them, too," Angel said.  
  
"Could you picture it?" Buffy asked. "Me as a slayer, but I am still popular … I still have friends. Maybe I am still cheerleading." She laughed. "It sounds ridiculous. That's like … my childhood. It's not how things are now."  
  
"How about me?" Angel said. "The girl said I was this great hero, like I was the romantic lead or something."  
  
Buffy looked at him. "I think I could picture it," she said. "I think I could see you as my leading man."  
  
Angel laughed. "Before I came here, I was roaming around New York feeding off rats," he said. "For the last year, I have simply been a prisoner … tortured every day."  
  
"Oh, get off it," Buffy said. "I wonder if the other version of you is so dramatic."  
  
Angel laughed again. "Probably not," he said. "He is probably very well adjusted." He sighed. "I sure would like to know."  
  
"Maybe you met him today," Buffy said. "Following me into that factory, that was pretty heroic."  
  
"Heroic is having something to loose," Angel said. "I have nothing. I thought I could redeem something of myself by helping out. It didn't exactly pan out."  
  
"I get what you mean," Buffy said. "The more I fight for my life, the less precious it seems. Isn't that weird? What is even weirder is that when I look at other girls … those that can go to school and have boyfriends and things … they're not all that happy, either. They pull their hair out and slit their wrists if they get a bad grade or they get dumped or their mum yells at them or something. It makes me wonder who I do all of this for. What is the point of all this vampire slaying, if nobody is even a little bit grateful?" She smiled and looked at Angel. "I hope that other me is happy with all that she's got."  
  
"Right now she has nothing," Angel said. "Not unless we crush that necklace and things go back to how they were."  
  
Buffy looked away. "And we and all we know will vanish away to make room," she said. She looked back at Angel. "Let's do it," she said. "I'm done. Let me go away and let this other me be called. That was always the contract, wasn't it? The contract someone else signed for me thousands of years ago. I won't fight it any more. Let them have their way."  
  
"Are you sure?" Angel asked.  
  
Buffy nodded. "Yes," she said. "Let's do it before I change my mind." She moved a little closer to him. "I just want to say something first," she said. "After having spent the last three years just fighting for my life, it … it was good to finally have someone to properly talk to. I … "  
  
She put her arm around him. He did the same and pulled her tired body in for a hug. They sat in each other's embrace for a long time. After a while, Buffy realised she had clenched her hand so tight that she had grounded the magic stone to dust.  
  
_"Buffy, wake up!"_  
  
Buffy blinked. She was in class. Everyone were packing their bags. Buffy looked at Willow.  
  
"What is going on?" she asked.  
  
"You fell asleep," Willow said. "Don't worry. Ms. Trunchbull didn't notice."  
  
The other students made their way out. Soon, Buffy and Willow were the only ones left.  
  
"Are you all right?" Willow asked. "You haven't seemed like yourself, lately." She looked concerned.  
  
At first, Buffy decided she wasn't going to say anything, but then she changed her mind. "Angel and I broke up," she said. "Properly. Definitely. That night Spike was here and Cordelia got hurt." She looked at her hands. "I guess it sounds silly. We weren't really together before … but that night … I tore off the band-aid and decided we aren't going to see each other any more … at all."  
  
Willow touched Buffy's shoulder. "You did the right thing," she said and gave Buffy what almost managed to look like an encouraging smile.  
  
"I guess," Buffy said. "Still, I am starting to get annoyed that this fairly tale of ours always seems to have the same ending."  
  
She gathered up her books and followed Willow out. When they came into the hall, the new girl came walking past them, fuming with anger.


End file.
